SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Gamecock Central has news and notes from the Gamecocks’ first practice of the season.

- Dawn Staley said the “anticipation was there, the execution wasn’t” on the first day of practice. “It’s good,” she said. “We’ve got the type of team that needs to understand both sides of the basketball. They realize they are good individual players, but how we get that individual mentality to mesh as a team, we’re a long way from that.”

- Tyasha Harris also thought the players are still learning about each other. She said the team is still looking for an identity. With so many versatile players, it will take some time to define roles. Staley later said the same thing.

- There is no update on the status of Destiny Littleton’s transfer waiver. Staley said her understanding is that the waiver has been submitted, but she reminded everyone she’d been in Puerto Rico for two weeks. Staley got home around 1:30 PM on Monday.

- Staley was asked about the name and likeness bill that was passed by California, and a similar bill that has been proposed in South Carolina. She said she had been advised not to comment, but smiled and added, “What I want is for everybody to be happy, so that’s as far as I’m going to go. I want the NCAA to be happy, I want the players to be happy, I want the students to be happy. I want a happy ending.”

- Harris was asked if she feels like a big sister or mother with all the freshman around. “A big sister,” she said, “not a mom. We’re not going to go that road!” She praised the freshmen for their ability and openness to coaching.

- For freshman Brea Beal, the biggest adjustment has been mental. “In the collegiate level you’ve got to know what you’re doing,” she said. “You’ve got to get out there and know what position you’re in.”

- Beal added, between deep breaths, that the practice was an “eye-opener.” She wasn’t used to the three-hour length or the intensity. “But it was exciting,” she said. “We’re willing to learn. We go through trial and error. We want to learn, we want to be yelled at.”

- Staley raved about Beal’s versatility, calling her a “utility player.” Beal can play guard, post up, or play a stretch four in a small-ball lineup. “She embraces anything we throw at her,” Staley said. “She’s very intelligent. She doesn’t mind the physicality. She’s probably the most physically ready to play at this level, and she really hadn’t lifted a weight before she got here.”

- In the offseason, Staley said junior LeLe Grissett would play some guard this season after playing mostly power forward the last two seasons. She backtracked a little, saying that Grissett would move around a lot. She has practiced mostly at guard over the summer to get up to speed, but when the season starts, “her best contributions will be playing some post.”

- A couple of familiar faces joined practice: A’ja Wilson and Tiffany Mitchell. Staley said that Mitchell was trying to get in a workout before playing overseas, and Wilson was probably trying to work out some frustration after the Aces were upset in the WNBA semifinals. They worked with the scout team, and during the portion of practice that was open to media, Wilson was matched up with freshman Aliyah Boston. On one play, Wilson beat Boston off the dribble, but Boston recovered enough to force a missed layup. “Hopefully some of our players are picking up some of the skill to understand how to play with anybody,” Staley said. She added that the scout team won.

- Of course, there was another guest at practice, Champ Staley. Champ was, even by his good boy standards, very well-behaved, just happy to have his mother back. Although he was not happy about how long Staley spent answering questions after practice.